America’s Biggest Retailers Sue Visa, MasterCard

by Adam Benjamin | May 24, 2013 10:49 am

Major retailers are opting out of a settlement to pursue independent legal action against Visa (V[1]) and MasterCard (MA[2]).

Macy’s (M[3]), Target (TGT[4]), JCPenney (JCP[5]) and Kohl’s (KSS[6]) were among the retailers that filed the original lawsuit, claiming that Visa and MasterCard inflated interchange fees for credit and debit transactions. The credit card companies proposed a settlement last July, and the retailers had until May 28 to either accept the damages in the settlement or opt out.

Retailers are rejecting the settlement[7] on the grounds that it would shield Visa and Mastercard from future antitrust violations.

Adam Benjamin is an Assistant Editor at InvestorPlace. As of this writing, he did not hold a position in any of the aformentioned securities.